# Me Too Moment for Doctors in India

Have you ever been punched in the face or abused in the most gruesome manner for doing your job?

Have you ever faced an irate mob baying for your blood when you go to your office?

Do you fear for your life while going to your office, that you will be lynched and that too for doing your job to the best of your ability?

Now imagine that you are a lady and you go thru all this. Isn’t it grotesque, Isn’t it diabolical?

How can you work in an environment when your every move is under scanner and your life is under threat from those waiting outside and gunning for your blood?

Above mentioned are some of the perils of working in one of the oldest professions in the world. The only profession in the world which gives you the unmatched joy of bringing a life into this world. The only profession which gives you an opportunity to be an angel by saving somebody’s life. Yes, I am talking about medical profession. Profession of a doctor.

In India doctors were most revered, probably second only to God, this profession was sacrosanct, rather naming it is a profession was sacrilegious but let alone God and Goddesses we are not even treating them as respectable human beings.

Out of a total of over four and half lacs candidates who applied for getting admission into MBBS course this year, less than two thousand realized their dream. Agony and hard work doesn’t end after clearing such a tough exam which requires continuous seven to eight hours of study every day for two years. It is the beginning of long hard rigorous grind of six years after which one gets the coveted degree. But struggle doesn’t end there, one has to go for specialization i.e. MD before there is any chance of making a decent living from the profession. In this age of super specialization even MD is not enough, after that one has to go for super specialization.

Phew!! Why would anyone want to be in this profession in this country? By the time a doctor finishes off his studies he is already in his late 20s or early 30s. Compare this to an MBA professional who starts earning six figure salary at the age of twenty-two.

To add to their misery there are not enough jobs in Government sector. Doctors are hired on contract for one year which is extended every year and after rubbing their asses for five to seven years they get permanent scales which also are not too lucrative. Others who don’t make it to Government jobs have to work on contracts in private hospitals which anyways don’ t pay much. After going thru so much in life they don’t even end up getting a well-paying secure job let alone crores of rupees which they are accused of making.

Social media is swarmed with videos accusing doctors of fleecing money under the guise of treatment. But please understand, most of the money that you pay goes to the hospital and Doctors get  very little off the amount that is paid. Most of the amount is reserved for the hospital administration and business men who run these hospitals.

I will advise you to please look into the bill that you pay. Out of the total bill amount which you pay only consultation charges goes to the doctor whereas balance amount goes to the hospital. One of the leading urologist who has worked with B L Kapoor, Balaji Action and Fortis once told me that even out of the consultation charges which are mentioned in the bill , some amount is not paid to them. They only get 70% of the amount.

Imagine the predicament of a doctor who is vilified, abused and punched doesn’t even get his due. Poor fellow has to face the wrath of patient’s kin as well if something goes wrong. I personally don’t think any doctor would like to put his patient on to the death bed. Yes there are some black sheep who work for lucre and make the patients go thru some unnecessary tests but still I will give them the benefit of doubt.

I once asked my Child’s pediatrician why don’t you carry out all the tests at the time of birth  of a child so that parents know where they stand and what they need to do and it will further help in case of any eventuality.

His reply was an eye opener for me he said “Parents accuse us of carrying out unnecessary tests so we carry out only basic tests. If we are not able to detect any disease, then also we are accused. Damned if we do and damned if we don’t. It’s is a catch 22 situation for us, hence we do only the basic tests so that parents don’t feel that had to shell out more than what was due “

CEOs of top notch organizations earn more than 20- 25 crores per annum, In HUL alone there were 113 employees for the year 2017-18 who earned more than a crore, prominent IT major Tata Consultancy Services closely leads HDFC with 91 crorepati employees and Bharti Airtel hits the third spot with 82 executives earning more than a crore salary annually.

Imagine the number of crorepatis that corporate India is producing. I am not vilifying their capability or doubting their credentials but most of them are engineers and MBAs who started earning in their mid twenties. Juxtapose their earnings with those of doctors who start earning only in their early to mid-thirties. Their salaries do not even reach 25- 30 Lakhs till they reach their mid 40s and that too for those who are working in top notch hospitals or having their own private practice.

In top corporate hospitals specialists are recruited as Jr. Consultants and their salary starts from Rs. 12 lac and after working for 25 years they reach the position of director. Salary of a director can range from Rs.1.2-1.5 crores per annum. This is peanuts compared to what top professionals from other industries make. If you look at the earnings of top doctors in India it is peanuts compared to what top notch CEOs earn. Yes, bigger peanuts but still peanuts. Imagine the kind of constant stress that a doctor is under and the kind of mindset a surgeon should have before entering into the operation theater. For him there are no retakes, he has to be a virtuoso performer.

We hear about the Devi shettys the Naresh Tehans , Balamurali Ambatis of the world but compare their net worth and salaries to Satya Nadellas to Mukesh Ambanis to Gautam Adanis

Is there any match? And my dear friends your average doctor doesn’t earn more than Rs. 12-15 lacs per annum which is not more than what small time kiryana wala makes whereas stresses and pressures on doctors are manifold.

Let’s not terrorize them, they are not Gods but also they are the only ones other than God who can save us. This smear campaign has to end somewhere.

There is # Me Too campaign which has picked up momentum. What about so many poor doctors including lady doctors. Isn’t it a me too moment for them.

Please share this post as much as possible and lets start a # Me Too campaign for doctors as well who have faced the music.

Author : Siddhartha Dua

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